Garment hanger

ABSTRACT

A pair of divergent arms each have a free end remote from the other. A first bar extends between and connects these ends and a second bar extends along the first bar and has a connected end connected to one of the free ends and another unconnected end. The second bar is downwardly swingable about the connected end to and from a position of parallelism with the first bar. Socket means is provided at the other of the free ends of the divergent arms and operative for receiving the unconnected end of the second bar and detaining means is provided for detaining the unconnected end against unintentional separation from the socket means.

Seckelmann [4 1 Aug. 1,1972

[54] GARMENT HANGER [72] Inventor: Herbert Seckelmann, Wahlen/Odw.,

Germany [73] Assignee: Hessischens Kunststoifwerk Schlerf,

Wah1en/0dw., Germany 221 Filed: July 30, 1970 21 Appl.No.: 59,492

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 2, 1969 Germany ..G 69 30685.0

[52] US. Cl ..223/88 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47j 51/084 [58] Field of Search..223/88, 91, 96, 85; 211/113 [56] References Cited I UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,435,999 4/1969 Mantell ..223/91 1,196,916 9/1916 Welch..'...223/91 1,008,327 11/1911 Hamilton ..223/91 941,510 ll/l909 Freeman..223/91 Primary Examiner.lordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-George H.Krizmanich Attorney-Michael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT A pair of divergentarms each have a free end remote from the other. A first bar extendsbetween and connects these ends and a second bar extends along the firstbar and has a connected end connected to one of the free ends andanother unconnected end. The second bar is downwardly swingable aboutthe connected end to and from a position of parallelism with the firstbar. Socket means is provided at the other of the free ends of thedivergent arms and operative for receiving the unconnected end of thesecond bar and detaining means is provided for detaining the unconnectedend against unintentional separation from the socket means.

13 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED M19 1 I973 3.680.746

INVENTOR mam! SEQHMWN ATTORN EY GARMENT HANGER The present inventionrelates generally to garment hangers, and more particularly to animproved garment hanger preferably, but not necessarily, of syntheticplastic material.

It is already known in the art to make garment hangers which frequentlybut not always are made of synthetic plastic material, and the free endsor tips of whose divergent arms are connected by a double bar extendingbetween them. The double bar-consists of two somewhat spaced parallelbars and they are both pivotable in unison downwardly with reference tothe normal upright operating position of the hanger, so that the freeend of the double .bar can be moved towards and away from one of the.tips of the divergent arms. Latching means is provided for releasablyconnecting this free end of the double bar with this tip in question.The double bar is held in latched position by the weight of agarment-usually trousers-resting on the double bar, and usually pulledthrough between the individual bars together constituting the doublebar.

Such garment hangers have become widely popular and are used asso-called one-way hangers, namely hangers which are provided by thefactory and on which the garment is placed to remain on the hanger notonly in the store but also to be given to the purchaser. The widespreadpopularity of such hangers results fromthe fact that they are very easyto utilize and highlyadvantageous. Thus, the garment-that is usuallytrousers-can be readily placed onto the hanger by sliding it between theindividualbars which together constitute the double bar, and this canbe'repeated as often as necessary, not only at the factory when thetrousers are placed onto the hanger but at the store where a singlepairof trousers may be removed from and placed back onto the hanger anumber of times before a customer will make a decision to purchase it.

These .hangers have, however, one disadvantage. Specifically, it iscustomary during loading of the garments-for instance duringtransportation from the factory to the wholesaler or retailer-for theworkers to grasp several garments at the same time to move them from oneplace to another. Customarily this is done by gripping the hangers withone hand from above and with the other'hand from below to lift them offa rod on which they and their garments hang. When this occurs, thedouble bar is sometimes lifted upwardly out of its detent socket sothat, when the operator subsequently removes his handafter having hungthe garments on a new rod-the thus detached double bars can swingdownwardly under the weight of the garments hanging on them whereby ofcourse the garments slide off the double bars and fall to the ground. Itis hardly necessary to point out that this is undesirable, and why it isundesirable.

SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTION In pursuance of the above objects and otherswhich will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the inventionresides in the provision of a garment hanger which, briefly stated,comprises a pair of divergent arms each having a free end remote fromthe other. A

first bar extends between and connects these ends and a second barextends along the first bar and has a connected end connected to one ofthe free ends and an other unconnected end. The second bar is downwardlyswingable about its connected end to and from a position of parallelismwith the first bar and socket means is provided at the other of the freeends and operative for receiving the unconnected end when the second baris in parallelism with the first bar. Detaining means detains theunconnected end against unintentional separation from the socket means.

' By resorting to my invention I provide a garment hanger which afl'ordsthe advantages of those known from the prior art but which avoids theirdisadvantages.

The detaining means may be in various difierent forms. For instance, itmay be in form of an elastically yieldable element which may be providedon the second bar itself or on the first bar, and which may be operativein different ways-for instance by resiliently deflecting it in the samedirection in which the second bar is deflected prior to movement of thelatter with reference to the first bar, in order to unlatch thedetaining means and permit such movement. However, other possibilitiesare also feasible and will be discussed below.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENTS Discussing now the drawing in detail, and firstly theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, it will be seen that the garmenthanger in toto is identified with reference numeral 1. It mayfrequently-but need not-consist of synthetic plastic material andvarious different materials for this purpose are well known and do notin themselves constitute a part of the present invention.

The garment hanger shown in FIG. 1 is provided with two downwardlydivergent arms 2 and 3 each having a free end or tip remote from theother; these free ends or tips are identified with reference numerals 2aand 3a, respectively. A first bar 4 extends between and connects thesefree ends 2a and 3a and is rigid with them, usually of one piece withthem.

Arranged below this first stationary bar 4 is a second bar 5 which isfast with-of one piece with or otherwise suitably connected to-only thefree end 30. It has an unconnected end 6 which may for instance have afirst engaging portion of hook-shaped configuration provided on a firstpart of bar 5 and may be fittingly receivable in or engageable with andengaging socket 7 provided for this purpose at or near the free end 2aof the arm 2. The bar 5 is movable between a position of parallelismwith the bar 4 and a downwardly displaced position (illustrated inFIG. 1) about its connected end where it is connected with the free end3a. When a pair of trousers is placed over the bar 5 the weight of thetrousers resting on it pulls the bar 5 downwardly as shown in FIG. 1,and the hook-shaped engaging portion 8 of the bar 5 thus is maintainedin engagement with a corresponding engaging recess 9 provided in thesocket The construction may be such that in known manner a lateral orsidewise movement of the unconnected end 6 can take place only when theunconnected end 6 is lifted upwardly (as seen in FIG. 1) by a certainamount and then moved laterally. In place of the hook-shaped engagingportion 8 it would also be possible to provide the upwardly directedsurface 10 of the socket 7 with a projection 11 (illustrated in phantomlines) which would then cooperate with a correspondingly configuratedrecess provided on the underside of the unconnected end 6.

According to the present invention, undesired and unintentionaldisengagement of the unconnected end 6 from the engaging socket 7 isavoided by providing a detaining or detent means such as is illustratedfor instance in FIGS. 1 and 2. Such detent means in these embodiments isin form of a resiliently displaceable latching element 12 (embodiment ofFIG. 1) or 12a (embodiment of FIG. 2) constituting a second part of bar5 which is provided with an upwardly extending portion 13 so positionedthat-when the unconnected end 6 is in engagement with the socket 7-theportion of projection 13 will engage behind or snap behind an engagingrib or cooperating projection 14 to thereby prevent lateral displacementof the free or unconnected end 6 from its engaged position, even if thefree end 6 is lifted somewhat as can occur under the circumstancesidentified in the introductory portion of the specification. Thus, theundesired lifting of the free end 6 and its detaching from the socket 7which have caused difficulties heretofore, are reliably avoided. In-

stead, a disengagement of the free end 6 from the socket 7 is possibleonly intentionally, namely by providing an additional manipulation whichreleases the detent or latching element 12 or 12a. This can for instancebe accomplished by a downward pressure on the extension portion 15 ofthe element 12 in FIG. 1, or by a pressure on the upwardly directionprojection 13 on the element 12a.

In the two embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2 the manipulation resulting inunlatching of the detaining means, that is of the elements 12 and 12a,respectively, requires a movement oppositely the movement leading todisengagement of the unconnected end 6 from the socket 7. The embodimentof FIG. 1 is slightly more advantageous in that it makes it possible toslide off a pair of trousers supported on the bar 5, and to replace themin the same manner if necessary, without the possibility that thetrousers might become snagged on the free end or unconnected end 6,because the extension 15 of the element 12 extends beyond theunconnected end 6. However, the embodiment of FIG. 2 affords the sameadvantages over the prior art as that of FIG. 1.

The embodiment of FIG. 3 utilizes another resiliently deflectableelement, here identified with reference numeral 12b. In this embodiment,however, the element 12b is provided on the underside of the unconnectedend 6 of the bar 5. The term underside" refers of course to that side ofthe bar 5 which faces away from the bar 4. Because the remainder of theembodiment of FIG. 3 is the same as that of FIG. 1, only the portions ofinterest for an explanation of the embodiment of FIG. 3 have been shownin that Figure. The operation of the embodiment of FIG. 3 is the same asin FIGS. 1 and 2, but this embodiment has the advantage that when it isdesired to disconnect or disengage the unconnected end 6 of the bar 5from the socket 7, the movement required of the element 12b for makingsuch disengagement possible, is in the same direction as the movement ofdisengagement itself. However, it should be noted that if only the bar 5is lifted-as in the unintentional lifting movement described in theintroductory comments to the specificationa lateral detaching of theunconnected end 6 from the socket 7 is impossible because in this casethe projection 120 of the element 12b will still remain engaged behindthe socket 7 or else in a recess 7a of the socket until such time as theelement 12b itself is lifted to detaching or unlatching position.

. FIG. 4, finally, illustrates an additional embodiment of the inventionwherein an elastically deflectable projection 16 is provided either onthe arm 2 or on the bar 4 itself. In either case the projection 16 willextend downwardly and be laterally resiliently deflectable. In the restposition of the bar 5, that is when the unconnected end 6 of the latteris engaged with the socket 7, the projection 16 engages in a recess 17provided at the upper side of the unconnected end 6 of the bar 6. It isthus impossible to lift the bar 5 and the unconnected end 6 thereofuntil such time as first the projection 16 is elastically deflected andthus dislodged by exerting a requisitely strong lateral force upon theunconnected end 6 to thereby unlatch the projection 16 and subsequentlythe unconnected end 6.

In any case, regardless of which of the illustrated exemplaryembodiments is provided, or which other modification suggesting itselfto those having skill in the art might be employed, the additionaldetaining arrangements provided according to the present inventionassure that the disadvantages known from the prior-art constructions areavoided and cannot recur. Furthermore, and particularly if the garmenthanger is made of synthetic plastic material, the detaining arrangementscan be provided in one and the same molding, casting or othermanufacturing operation in which the hanger as a whole is produced.Thus, their provision does not require any additional operating orassembling steps and does not increase the cost of the garment hanger,at least not to any appreciable extent.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in agarment hanger, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:

1. A garment hanger, comprising a pair of divergent arms each having afree end remote from the other; a first bar extending between andconnecting said ends; a second bar extending along said first bar andhaving a connected end connected to one of said free ends and an otherunconnected end, said second bar being downwardly swingable about saidconnected end to and from a position of parallelism with said first bar,said second bar having at its unconnected end a first part and a secondpart resiliently deflectable with respect to said first part; engagingmeans provided on said other of said free ends and adapted to preventswinging away of said second bar; a first engaging portion provided onsaid first part, engageable with said engaging means, and disengageableonly when said second part is deflected with respect to said first part.

2. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said engaging meansincludes at least one recess, and wherein said first engaging portionincludes a projection accommodatable in said one recess.

3. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, further comprising a secondengaging portion provided on said second part and engageable with saidengaging means.

4. A garment hanger as defined in claim 3, wherein said engaging meansincludes at least one additional recess, and wherein said secondengaging portion includes a projection accommodatable in said additionalrecess.

5. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said first part is ofone piece with said unconnected end.

6. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and secondparts are of one piece with said unconnected end.

7. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and secondparts project in substantial parallelism beyond said unconnected end.

8. A garment hanger as defined in claim 3, wherein, after disengagementof said first and second portions from said engaging means, said secondbar is swingable in a first direction and then in a second direction.

9. A garment hanger as defined in claim 8, wherein said first engagingportion moves into and out of engagement with said engaging means in adirection other than said first direction.

10. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said first part isnearer to said first bar than is said fiq iqk ga r ment hanger asdefined in claim 1, wherein said second part is nearer said first barthan is said first part.

12. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said arms and saidbars consist at least predominantly of synthetic plastic resin material.

13. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, said second part projectinglengthwise beyond said unconnected end of said second bar. I

1. A garment hanger, comprising a pair of divergent arms each having afree end remote from the other; a first bar extending between andconnecting said ends; a second bar extending along said first bar andhaving a connected end connected to one of said free ends and an otherunconnected end, said second bar being downwardly swingable about saidconnected end to and from a position of parallelism with said first bar,said second bar having at its unconnected end a first part and a secondpart resiliently deflectable wiTh respect to said first part; engagingmeans provided on said other of said free ends and adapted to preventswinging away of said second bar; a first engaging portion provided onsaid first part, engageable with said engaging means, and disengageableonly when said second part is deflected with respect to said first part.2. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said engaging meansincludes at least one recess, and wherein said first engaging portionincludes a projection accommodatable in said one recess.
 3. A garmenthanger as defined in claim 1, further comprising a second engagingportion provided on said second part and engageable with said engagingmeans.
 4. A garment hanger as defined in claim 3, wherein said engagingmeans includes at least one additional recess, and wherein said secondengaging portion includes a projection accommodatable in said additionalrecess.
 5. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said firstpart is of one piece with said unconnected end.
 6. A garment hanger asdefined in claim 1, wherein said first and second parts are of one piecewith said unconnected end.
 7. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1,wherein said first and second parts project in substantial parallelismbeyond said unconnected end.
 8. A garment hanger as defined in claim 3,wherein, after disengagement of said first and second portions from saidengaging means, said second bar is swingable in a first direction andthen in a second direction.
 9. A garment hanger as defined in claim 8,wherein said first engaging portion moves into and out of engagementwith said engaging means in a direction other than said first direction.10. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1, wherein said first part isnearer to said first bar than is said second part.
 11. A garment hangeras defined in claim 1, wherein said second part is nearer said first barthan is said first part.
 12. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1,wherein said arms and said bars consist at least predominantly ofsynthetic plastic resin material.
 13. A garment hanger as defined inclaim 1, said second part projecting lengthwise beyond said unconnectedend of said second bar.